Best practices in investment design

The Best Practices in Investment Design series reviews exemplary activities in a wide variety of ongoing or completed rural and agricultural development projects. The focus is on innovative approaches and proven techniques that have produced exceptional and sustainable results. Recent publications in this category include the stocktaking of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and management information systems, stocktaking of livelihood projects, incorporating climate change considerations into investment programmes, and the use of mobile phones in development projects. The aim is to provide examples of successful strategies and methodologies to assist development practitioners in improving the design, formulation and monitoring of future investment projects.

Stocktaking of agricultural water investment in India: A review of selected World Bank-supported projects

Date of publication: 4 February 2013

The report "Stocktaking of agricultural water investment in India" is part of a joint FAO and World Bank research effort that has been developed to follow the progress of World Bank-supported agriculture and rural development (ARD) projects in South Asia. This is the final publication in a three report...

Stocktaking of M&E and Management Information Systems - Selected agricultural and rural development projects in South Asia

Date of publication: 21 November 2012

Stocktaking of M&E and Management Information Systems - Selected agricultural and rural development projects in South Asia: The study examined Word Bank and IFAD projects with emerging good practices in M&E, learning and MIS. Benefits were stronger where greater emphasis was given to M&E as a management tool, where...

Stocktaking of livelihood projects in India

Date of publication: 21 June 2012

A report on “Stocktaking of livelihoods projects in India,” published by the FAO Investment Centre, draws from six thematic working papers prepared by FAO consultants. The paper reviews a series of projects that the World Bank has supported in seven states of India that give direct funding and support to...

Incorporating climate change considerations into agricultural investment programmes

Date of publication: 1 May 2012

FAO’s Investment Centre Division, in collaboration with FAO’s Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, has published a report on: “Incorporating climate change considerations into agricultural investment programmes – A guidance document”. This best practices guidance document is intended to help development professionals and government officials who are involved in agricultural...

Study on potentials of mobile phones in investment and development projects

Date of publication: 1 January 2011

This study is one of the results of the “Sustainable Livelihood Development Project” being implemented in Kenya by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) under FAO funding. The project has developed a mobile phone based monitoring system, which provides a number of key services, including real time reporting of the performance...

Use of monitoring and evaluation in agriculture and rural development projects

Date of publication: 1 December 2010

This Paper provides a critical review of the use of M&E in agricultural and rural development (ARD) projects. It assesses how M&E systems have been designed and implemented in 74 World Bank-assisted ARD projects over the last 15 years in the South and East Asia regions. This is based primarily...